The Infinite Cycle
by The Samurai Prince
Summary: Aang, Zuko, Katara, and Toph are sent to the future. They're in a floating city called Airloft, where the ruler is man who can tell the future. Another man joins the Gaang to retrieve a girl, who lives in a pagoda tower, the place where they are sent to go. They will soon discover secrets, strip away lies, and find out the truth of this future. Avatar/AU Bioshock Infinite fusion.
1. The Lighthouse

**A/N: Hello all! I have once again, came up with a GENIOUS(oh hah.) idea for a story! If anyone of you had read the summary, then yes; **_**"Bioshock Infinite"**_** is gonna be involved in this story. How am I going to do that in the world of Avatar? **

…**Oh, I have my ways… ;D **

**But seriously, if you haven't played **_**"Bioshock Infinite**_**", do it NOW. It's an AMAZING game. But you don't have to play it to know what's going on, though. In fact, I hope this will be a fun reading experience to let you all know bits and bits about the world of **_**"Bioshock Infinite"**_**. Now when I say that, I'm not saying this will be a crossover between the two; it's more of a fusion, with me also just burrowing stuff from the game, and applying into the world of Avatar. :) **

**I won't give you any details on what the plot is, cause that's pretty much spoiling it! The fun about the game was the mystery, so it's up to YOU to solve this story's mystery! But that's all I'm saying! If you haven't played the game, I hope this will be an exciting read for you! If you had played the game, then I hope you'll like this interpretation of the Gaang in a **_**"Bioshock Infinite"**_** world setting! Don't be fooled by what I'm explaining here, because it's NOT a crossover…you'll see where I'm heading with this. ;D**

**Also, just to give you guys some warnings; there WILL be some shipping moments between the selected characters. Some friendship moments will be here as well, but most of it will be shipping. So if the shipping bothers you, then I'm so sorry, but it's all for the sake of this story.** **I hope you'll still stick around for it, cause I do want to try to make this epic for all of you. :)**

**But again, if you haven't played**_** "Bioshock Infinite"**_**yet, then you'll be in for a treat. :D Let me give you all some advice though if you're playing it and are about to beat it: WAIT AFTER THE END CREDITS. It'll be agonizing, but you'll need to do this. It will all make SENSE once you do. ;)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own A:TLA and Bioshock Infinite. They all belong to each of their owners, Nick and Irrational Games. I'm doing this out of creativity and fun. :)**

* * *

**(The Infinite Cycle)**

**By The Samurai Prince**

* * *

_The mind of the subject will desperately create memories where none exist…_

_- Rosal Leiku_

_**-o-**_

_The mind of the subject will desperately try to create memories that never were there… _

_- Robek Leiku_

_**-o-**_

_All in all, it is true that the mind is a very fragile thing._

_- The Leiku Twins_

* * *

"Do we all agree to this?"

"I think it is quite necessary from what we've been told."

"I deem it necessary as well. We should all come to an agreement to this."

"Roku, what do you think should be done?"

"…From what has been said, this sounds dire. I concur to this. I shall warn the Avatar while he's asleep, and that is when we shall send him to the location of his quest.

"What of the waterbender, the blind earthbender, and your great-grandson?"

"…I think it is appropriate for them to journey with the Avatar as well. He'll need all the help he could possibly get. We shall send them off just as the same."

"…Do you really think this will happen?

"…We cannot take any chances. We shall take this risk."

"From what we heard though, this journey will be a perilous and treacherous one, more so than the '100 Year War'. Do you think they'll be ready?"

"They must…"

"You not only worry about the Avatar and his friends, but you worry about your great-grandson, do you?"

"…I do. But again, they _must_ do this. If everything that was said is true, then they _have_ to stop what comes their way…we can only _hope_ that they do."

"Then is it decided?"

"…Yes. We shall commence once I warn Avatar Aang of what's to come. …Let the Spirits watch over them."

* * *

All Aang could see was white.

He was floating…

_Huh? Wha…What's going on?_

A figure came into view in the white mass of nothingness. The figure was calling him…

"…Aang…Avatar Aang…"

_Roku? _

"Yes, it is me…"

Roku appeared in front of him.

_Roku! What's happening? Where are we?_

"I cannot explain everything right now. We haven't much time, Aang."

_W-what? Roku, what's going on? _

"Young Avatar, you and three of your friends are about to be sent into another land. Listen to me closely."

_What!? B-but, me and my friends are all vacationing! Roku, what's the rush? Why are we in hurry?_

"Because this is _very _vital. You and your friends are being watched."

_Watched!? _

"Again, I cannot explain everything. When you reach your destination, do NOT bend unless if it's necessary."

_Roku, you're not making any sense!_

"Just heed these words that I'm about to say, Aang! Do NOT bend unless necessary! That goes to your friends as well!"

_What? But…_

"The destination you're about to go to will be in the future. There, you-"

_THE FUTURE!? Roku, what is all this about!? _

"Aang! Listen to me! You will be sent about fifty years into the future!"

_FIFTY YEARS!?_

"In about that time, you will not be able to contact us. There will be no Avatar in the future. You will now only airbend."

…_What?_

"Now do you see how dire this situation is?"

_B-but…but...how? _

"Even I and my past lives don't know of this. We were told by an outside source from the future. You and your friends MUST figure out a way to stop this from happening!"

…_Who's coming with me?_

"Katara, Toph, and Zuko."

…_Okay…who were the outside sources?_

"They didn't say their names. They only told us of what may happen in the future."

…_Well…alright…but…do I have to go _now_?_

"Yes, Aang. You _must_. This is _very_ important."

…_(sigh) …Okay…we'll put our vacation on hold for now. _

"Good. We are using our power to send you into the future as we speak. Once you and your friends wake up, _find a lighthouse_."

_Uh…okay…find a lighthouse…got it. …Roku?_

"Yes, Avatar Aang?"

…_There being no Avatar in the future included…how bad is this situation?_

"…All I can say is 'be on your guard', Young Avatar. Farewell."

* * *

Aang slowly woke up, his eyelids struggling to open. Something bright was shining into his view. He raised his right arm to shield his eyes from the light. His eyes slowly adjusted to the bright colors, as he was now awake.

He was lying on his back, looking upward to see that the branches of the trees and the slightly dark clouds were partially blocking the sun's light. It was really cloudy today and the weather felt humid…

Wait a minute…why was he _outside_? Wasn't he in his room in Zuko's beach house?

Alarmed, he quickly sat up…and noticed two things.

He was sitting on grassy field with tress surrounding him…and his clothes were different.

He was wearing long sleeved white shirt, along with a buttoned up vest with orange and brown vertical stripes under it, a brown blazer over it, brown casual pants and brown shoes. He was also wearing something strange and orange around his neck. Some kind of neck…accessory?

"What the…?" Aang said in confusion, studying the outfit he was wearing. He glanced at the grassy ground, wondering where he was at.

Laying his hands down on the grass, his left hand touched something. He looked down to his left. It was a strange looking hat with a round brim and two slim looking bumps on top of it.

Aang blinked in astonishment. "What in the world?"

Then he remembered.

Eyes wide, he remembered the dream(he thinks?) he had.

"…Then…this must mean that I'm…" Aang faltered.

'…_in the future…' _he finished in thought.

Aang also remembered something else…

"My friends!" He exclaimed as he stood up in an instant, all the while trying to be comfortable in his new clothes. He quickly looked around each direction to see if anyone was present.

"Zuko, Toph…_Katara_!" he yelled frantically.

* * *

'_Ugh…what happened to my nice soft bed?' _Toph thought irritably as she rolled on her back in the grass and sat up.

'…_Wait a minute…grass?' _Toph's eyes widen as she grabbed a handful of grass, thus realizing that she was outside.

"What the…" Toph frowned. "Okay you clowns! If this is your idea of a joke, then I'm not laughing!"

No answer…

She huffed…until she noticed something was off…

"…What am I wearing?" Toph inquired, feeling the strange fabric on her.

She may not see it, but she's wearing a brownish skirt that reaches down to her ankles exposing her feet, which they have black wrappings around them, making it look like footwear, a dark green buttoned up long sleeved shirt that stops to her waist, and a brown woman's coat over the shirt. Her attire wasn't the only thing that has changed; her hair was now in an elegant bun, her face clear from any hanging bangs, except for maybe two.

Toph felt the fabric on her fingers and touched the bun on her hair, causing her to blink in confusion.

"…Wait a minute…_WHO DRESSED ME!?_" exclaimed a ticked off Toph.

"Toph!?"

The girl in question turned to where the voice was and recognized it instantly.

"Aang!?"

"Toph, there you are! I was-_whoa_…" Aang came in running to find Toph near a tree. He stopped for second to gaze at Toph's new delicate look. "…Uh…"

"Twinkles! Was this your idea!? Talk now!"

Aang blinked stupidly _'_"…Wha? Oh! Uh, Toph, it's a good thing I found you! Listen, I'll tell you everything later! We got to find Katara and Zuko!"

"What?" Toph said in confusion as soon Aang spoke. He sounded in a hurry. "What happened to Sugar Queen and Sparky? Twinkles, what's going on!? And who DRESSED me!?" Toph demanded.

Aang hold his hands up to calm her down, but realized that she couldn't see them, so he did the next best thing instead; clearing his throat, "Uh…well, to answer that last one, the, um…Avatars did that…I think."

Toph did her impression of a dull stare. "…The Avatars? Really?" she said in a disbelieving tone.

"Hey, you're the lie-detector, you tell me." Aang said with a shrug.

"…Okay then. So why would the Avatars dress me up like a doll? For their own sick perverted pleasure?"

Aang shook his he head and sighed loudly. "Toph, I really can't explain everything right now. I'm dressed as weird as you are too. We just need to find the others."

"At least tell me where we are, cause this is definitely not Zuko's beach house from where I'm standing!" Toph said, crossing her arms impatiently.

Aang blew out another sigh. "Would you believe me if I said that we're in the future?"

…Toph stood there for a moment as her eyes widened. "…Are you serious?"

"Dead serious." Aang nodded.

"…How far are we?"

"About fifty years into the future."

"…Whoa…heavy…"

"Now can we go find Zuko and Katara?" asked Aang.

"Uh…yeah, sure." Toph said, still trying to wrap her head around this phenomenon.

* * *

Zuko sat there…wondering what in the world was going on.

'_What _are_ these clothes?'_

Looking at what he was wearing, Zuko had a buttoned up dark maroon vest underneath a white long sleeved shirt, with a red clothe neck accessory looking thing around his neck and in his vest. He also was wearing a brown blazer over his vest, brown pants, and brown shoes.

Zuko blinked. "This is…strange. Am I dreaming?"

He sat there for a second and decided to test that theory out. He used his firebending to warm the tip of his fingers, and pinched the knuckle of his thumb.

"Ow!" Zuko exclaimed, waving his hurt hand in pain. "Okay…I'm not dreaming."

He gazed around to where he might be. _'A field, some trees…not anywhere familiar.'_

He got up, all the while thinking how weird these clothes feel, and walked around to see if anyone else was there.

"Hello? Aang, Toph…Katara?" Zuko called out.

"Zuko!?" a recognizable feminine voice called back.

"Katara!?" Zuko dashed through the field until he can see a figure appearing and coming into view behind one of the trees. The figure's back was facing Zuko, which the figure's attire was as strange as his. The figure turned around to face Zuko, which revealed to be none other than Katara!

"Zuko!" she said.

"Katara!" Zuko said as he slowed down his speed when he ran and came to a full stop.

"Zuko, what's going on!?" said a worried Katara. "Why are we in these weird clothes?"

Zuko studied Katara for a moment to look and see what kind of weird attire she had on. She was wearing a light brown skirt, with black lady styled boots for footwear, and she was wearing a dark blue long sleeved buttoned up shirt that stopped at the waist. Her hair was still down in wavy locks, framing her face. The only thing that was noticeable was her water skin that was hanging from her the side of her waist.

"I don't know. But it doesn't look like we're on Ember Island anymore." Zuko contemplated, checking around their new setting.

Katara looked around as well, confused and anxious. "Well…where _are_ we then? We were all asleep at your beach house and…then we woke up here…" Katara said to herself softly, at a loss.

Zuko was silent in thought. "…My only guess would be that maybe this has something to with the Spirits."

"The Spirits?" Katara questioned. "But…why would the Spirits do this?"

"Again, I don't know. If Aang was here, he'll tell us what's going on. I think this would be right up his alley."

Katara sadly frown at the mention of her boyfriend. _'Aang…where could he be at?' _She then sighed and said, "Well…what do we do now?"

"We probably need to look around where we are." Zuko glanced at Katara's water skin. "Is there any water in there?"

Katara blinked and looked down at the water skin stepped to her waist. She looked surprised. "My water skin?" She moved her hands around to bend the water out of it, succeeding to gather some. "There's…water in here."

Zuko raised an eyebrow. "Wait…you didn't know you had your water skin with you?"

"No, I didn't…" she bends the water back in the pouch. She stood there, thinking… "…I think we're here for something."

Zuko gazed at the ground. "...You may be right."

They all stood there in silence…

Uncomfortable with it, Zuko looked up to stare at Katara and what she was wearing. Weird clothes or not, he had to admit she looked nice…

Katara took note on Zuko's staring and blinked at him. "…What? Do I look that weird?"

Snapping out of his gaze, Zuko said, "O-oh, uh, sorry, it's just that…well, weird clothes or not, you…look really nice."

Katara's eyes widen as she stood there was a tint of red. "Oh, uh…well, thanks…I, uh, guess I can sport this, huh?" She joked. She then smiled. "You look pretty dashing yourself."

Zuko blinked and look down at his attire. "Oh…um, thanks." He chuckled. "It does have a style to it, doesn't it?"

Katara giggled. "Wherever we are, the people who made these certainly had some interesting taste in fashion!"

Zuko chuckled some more…then he paused. He heard some voices…

"…_Zuko! Katara!"_

"_Where are you guys!?"_

He turned his head to the left at source of the voices.

Katara heard them too. "Hey! That sounds like Aang and Toph! Come on!" she said, relieved.

Zuko followed Katara to the direction of the voices, which soon led them to the speakers.

"Katara! Zuko!" Aang said happily.

"Sparky! Sugar Queen!" Toph also said in content.

They soon met up with each other.

"Thank goodness I found you guys! There's a lot of stuff I need to tell you!" Aang said.

"We figured." Zuko said with a smirk.

"Aang, what's happening? Why are we in these bizarre clothes and in a field?" Katara inquired. "…Is that a hat you're wearing?"

Aang looked up at the hat that was placed on and adjusted it. "Uh, I think so, yeah."

_**KKKKKRRRKKKKRKKKK!**_

Toph jumped at the sound. "What the hell!?"

Zuko looked up at the sky. The clouds were getting dark, and it was cloudier than usual. "A storm is coming. We need to get to shelter. Toph, could you bend a rock dome over us?"

When he was saying that, Aang remembered what Roku said.

'_Find a lighthouse.'_

"Wait! We need to find a lighthouse!" Aang exclaimed.

The three of his friends looked(well, at least one of them try to.) at Aang oddly.

"Uh…why, Aang?" Katara said questionably.

"Roku told me that we need to find a lighthouse around here! I don't know what for, but it's linked to why we're here!"

"Well…if my great-grandfather told us to find a lighthouse, then I guess we need to go find a lighthouse." said Zuko, although it raised more questions for him.

"Well, what are we waiting for!? Let's find this lighthouse before we get rained on!" Toph insisted.

"Wait a minute! We don't even know where to look to find this lighthouse!" Katara said, bursting everyone's bubble.

"The question shouldn't be _where_ to look for it, rather than _how _to look for it." said a refined voice.

They all jumped at the random voice and turned to where the source was.

Standing a little ways in front of them on an dirt pathway that led outside of the woods, was a nicely dressed man, similar to what Zuko and Aang are wearing, with nicely groomed jet black hair. He was also holding an umbrella.

Toph blinked and raised an eyebrow in surprise. _'What the…where did this guy come from?'_

The others wondered the same thing.

"Uh…what?" Katara asked, confused at the man's words.

"Who are you?" Zuko asked in suspicion.

"That is of no concern. If you are looking for a lighthouse, follow this path. It will lead you to your destination." He said as he moved out of their way to open the path in front of them.

They all(except Toph) stared at him oddly. Aang studied him for a second. The man may have dressed peculiarly like the rest of them, and didn't seem to give out a bad vibe, but…_where_ did he came from was the question.

"I suggest you all hurry. It's about to rain soon, and it would be very unpleasant for you all to get your clothes wet." The man said with an impassive face.

"Uh…thanks…" Aang said hesitantly.

"Do you, uh…live around these woods?" Katara asked the man curiously.

The man shook his head. "I am just a mere traveler." The man said with a slight smile. "You better be off now.

"O…kay, but what about you?" Zuko asked him warily.

The man then hold the umbrella up and opened it, letting the top of it hover above him, covering him from the rain.

"Problem solved." He said with a wry smile.

They all stood there looking at him even more strangely.

"Uh…" Aang started to say, until…

_**KEERRRPOOOW!**_

They all jumped at the sound as Toph yelped and said, "ACK! Forget it! Let's just get to that lighthouse!"

Aang and the gang ran through the pathway, running pass the man. As Aang ran, he took one last look back at the man, who was just standing there waving them off.

'_Who was that guy?' _Aang thought.

* * *

"There it is! I see it!" Katara said happily as she and the gang ran.

They were out of the woods and into a large cliff side facing the ocean. On the giant cliff, there stands a huge, tall lighthouse, its wide, white colored structure imposing and grand.

"That's...a big lighthouse." Zuko said with wide eyes.

They all reached the entrance to the lighthouse. The double doors to the entrance had intricate designs on them, such as the doors being bronze for one, with designs of two snaking dragons with their tails pointing upward on top of the doors, slithering down to the handles to make their heads seem to be holding the ring in their mouths, which were the handles. Around the frame of the doors, were sculpted lines to make them look like beams of light were coming out of them.

"Wow…this lighthouse is fancy." Aang commented, looking up at it.

"Yeah, yeah, it's a work of art! Let's get inside!" Toph said cynically and hastily.

Aang, Zuko, and Katara blinked at Toph's hurried pace. She shoved the bronze door, which was made of metal, so with one push, she easily open one of the doors as if it was made of simple wood. Toph went in first and sat on a chair she found that was next to the huge supporting beam that supports the lighthouse.

From the inside, it was somewhat of a mess. Few chairs and a couple of tables were scattered across the area, along with some barrels. There was a staircase to the right that spirals up to the next floor. Upon entering, Aang and Zuko first noticed a plaque nailed on the beam in front of them as they walk in, right above a table with a metal tray with a few towels next to it.

The boys walked up to where the plaque was hanging and read it to themselves:

_-OF THY SINS, SHALL I WASH THEE-_

Each of them raised an eyebrow and glanced at each other. Aang checked the tray on the table to see that it was, in fact, full of water.

Zuko gazed to his right to see another plaque next to the staircase, in which it said:

_-FROM GROUND BELOW, SHALL I LEAD THEE-_

'_What's all _this_ about?' _Zuko thought in wonder.

Katara went to where Toph was and said with a smirk, "You seem like you wanted to get out of the rain."

"Well, doesn't everyone?" Toph said carelessly with her arms crossed.

_**KKKEEERRTTHOOOWW!**_

Toph jumped in her seat. "Ah!"

Aang and Zuko turned their attention to Toph with surprised wide eyes.

"…Are you scared of thunder, Toph?" Aang wondered.

Toph regained her composure and said defiantly, "Scared? Of stupid thunder? I hope you're joking!"

"Toph, if you don't like thunder, then it's okay to admit it." Zuko said.

"Admit what? I'm not scared of anything!" Toph scowled.

"Toph, we're not going to make fun of you if you're afraid of a little thunder." Katara now said in a comforting tone.

Toph narrowed her eyes. "I. Am not. SCARED! I just don't want to get rained on and get sick!"

"…So you're afraid of getting sick?" Aang questioned.

"I'M NOT SCARED!" Toph exclaimed.

_**KKKKEEEERRRRRTHPOOOOOWWWWW! **_

Toph jumped and squeaked.

Aang looked at her in shock. "…Did you just squeak?"

"NO! I was…just clearing my throat!" Toph said in defense.

Zuko sighed, "Seriously Toph, it's okay to be frighten over things like this. Everyone is afraid of something. Mai is afraid of caterpillar-worms…don't anyone one of you tell her that I said that." he said firmly.

"Really?" Katara said in surprise.

"Really? Needles is afraid of an ol' crawly bug?" Toph said as she laughed. "Wow! Talk about weak!"

"Toph, it doesn't make you feel weak at all to be scared." Aang reassured. "Being able to admit you're afraid makes you pretty much strong. And it only means that we're human."

Toph pouted and sat there for a while, until she sighed and said, "Fine. I just get jumpy around thunder, okay?"

Katara smiled and softly said, "It's okay Toph, we get where you're coming from."

Toph scoffed. "Okay, we're scared of everything! Now that we're here, why don't you explain what's going on, Twinkletoes?"

"Oh yeah!" Aang said, realizing that they haven't heard the whole story. "Well, while we were asleep in Zuko's beach house, Roku visited me in a dream saying that we were sent here to prevent something."

"Prevent?" Katara asked, a little confused.

Zuko narrowed his eyes in puzzlement. "Wait…preventing something? …" His eyes went wide. "A-are you saying..."

Aang sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "Um…if we just time traveled? Then…yes."

Zuko and Katara were both appalled at the news. "TIME TRAVEL!?"

Aang and Toph cringed.

"Then…we're in the past!?" Katara asked anxiously.

"Well…actually, we're in the future." Aang corrected.

They both blinked in confusion.

"…The future?" Zuko asked.

"Fifty years into the future, to be exact." Toph butted in.

"Fifty years!?" Katara yelled.

"But…to prevent something, shouldn't we have been in the past?" Zuko theorize, trying to make sense of this.

"Well…that's for us to find out, I guess." Aang said unsurely. He then remembered, "Oh! And…Roku said something about we can't be using our bending right now, only when it's necessary."

"What!?" exclaimed Toph. "What kind of order is that? Why can't we use our bending?"

"That I don't really know; he was in a hurry to send us here." Aang said as he lowered his head in thought.

"Well…whatever it may be, my great-grandfather Roku has to have a good reason to send us…uh, to the future…and wear these…clothes." Zuko said, hesitantly uncertain while looking down at his clothes.

Aang then remembered something else that was pretty important to bring up. "Uh…guys? There's something else I have to mention…"

They all looked at him and listened.

"…I…I don't think I can go into the Avatar State."

All three pair of eyes were wide as they can be.

"You can't go into the Avatar State!?" Katara exclaimed in shock.

"What the-but…why!? I thought you already opened it!?" Toph said, bewildered.

"Aang, how did this happened!?" Zuko asked, stunned.

"Uh…well, Roku…said that there was no Avatar in this future, meaning that…I can't go into contact with the spirits of the past Avatars…" Aang said solemnly.

All three of them were silent, stunned after hearing the news.

"…This is serious." Zuko finally said gravely.

"…No Avatar…then that means you can only airbend?" asked Katara, still trying to let this info sink in.

Aang nodded sadly. "Yeah…"

Everyone still stood there, silent as the rain started to come down outside.

"…Hey…this is a light_house_, isn't it?" Toph inquired.

They all looked at her oddly, with Katara answering, "Uh…yeah…"

"Then…should someone be _living_ here?" Toph asked in curiosity.

The three blinked at that claim.

"Hey…yeah, there should be at least someone here to watch over the lighthouse. We did make a lot of noise, so someone should've come down here by now." Aang speculated.

They all stood there in quiet, waiting for anything…

"…I don't like this." said Katara, feeling on guard.

"Yeah…it's too quiet in here." Zuko said as he cautiously looked around the area.

Aang then tried to call someone out. "Hello!? Anyone here!?"

No answer…

"Maybe we should go up." Katara advised.

Silently agreeing, they went on their way to the staircase. As they did, Katara looked at the plaques that were on the beam and the one next to the stairs with a raised eyebrow.

'_Hm…that's kind of peculiar.' _She thought as she walked passed it.

They walked up the stairs to the second level, which seems to be a room filled with cabinets, drawers, a bed, a desk, a sink, and a stove. But beyond that, the second floor looked like someone had a struggle; plates were crashed on the floor, a small drawer was turned over, other objects littered on the floor.

"It looks like a struggle happened here." Zuko said grimly.

Aang and Katara looked concern at the sight. "…This doesn't look too good."Aang stated.

They searched to see if anyone was on this floor, but with no such luck. There were, however, weird contraptions around the area, ones that looked foreign to them. Aang went over to the desk to study one of the contraptions, while Zuko was behind him looking at a map that was above the desk. Meanwhile, Katara was still observing the second level, while Toph sat on the bed waiting.

Aang studied an object that looked way more like a candle stick to him, but looked way too advanced to be one**(1)**. It had some sort of receiver at the top, with another receiver, one that was connected to wire, strapped to the side. He picked it up, noting that it was heavier than it looks, and examined it.

"Huh…weird." Aang said, while inspecting it. He put it back on the desk and glanced at Zuko to see what he was looking at.

Zuko was looking at the map, which depicts the Earth Kingdom, above the desk. The map had pinpoints to different places and cites, all of which were white, but one pinpoint that was near an area of the coast somewhere in the Earth Kingdom, was red. He also noticed a note on the lower right of the map that said, _"Be prepared. He and his disciples are on their way. You must stop them! -S"_

Zuko blinked at the note curiously. "Stop who…?" he asked quietly to no one.

Aang looked at the note as well. "…Who's '_S'_?" he spoke softly to himself.

As they stood there, Katara walked up to yet another plaque that was next to the spiraling staircase. She read to herself:

_-TO THINE OWN LAND, SHALL I TAKE THEE-_

Katara cocked her head to the side, puzzled.

'_Whoever put these plagues up must very be really religious.'_

"So, see anything interesting?" asked Toph as she sat on the bed, rocking back and forth.

Aang was looking at a machine of some kind that had papers being attached to a horizontal cylinder roller**(2)**. He replied, "Well, there's these odd objects around here that look complicated…"

Zuko then added, "…But there's a map that's pinpointing places around the Earth Kingdom, along with a note."

"Oh, so we're probably in a futuristic Earth Kingdom then? Cool." Toph said a little nonchalantly.

"What does the note say?" asked Katara.

"It just says, _"Be prepared. He and his disciples are on their way. You must stop them!". _It's signed by a person who's name starts with an 'S'." Zuko says.

"Disciples? Oh great, what are we facing now, a cult?" Toph said bitterly.

"Hmm…" Aang was in thought. "…Maybe that's who we're supposed to stop?"

"There's only one way to find out. Maybe if we go up more of these stairs, we'll find answers." stated Zuko.

They all nod their heads. They started up the second spiraling staircase, Aang in front of them, and Zuko in the back. Thunder was still evident from outside, making Toph jump a little bit, in which Zuko calmed her down from behind.

As they went further up the stairs, Aang noticed something on the wall that was above the spiraling staircase, leading to the third floor.

It was a bloody handprint.

Aang slightly gasped at the handprint, as did Katara who noticed it as well. They rushed further to see what awaits them on the third floor.

It wasn't a pretty sight.

Aang's eyes widened at the grisly scene in front of him. Katara gasped in horror.

"What? What happened?" Toph said as she hurried up the stairs.

Zuko came up last and witnessed what the two were staring at.

It was a man sitting on a chair, his arms tied behind it, clothed and with a brown bag covering his head.

The man had a puncture wound to his head through the brown bag, blood staining it, while the blood was making a puddle underneath the man and the chair.

"…Why is everyone quiet?" Toph asked. She then sniffed and said, "And what's that smell?"

"Um…Toph? I really mean it when I say this, but…it's a good thing you're blind right now. You don't want to see this." Zuko said solemnly.

Toph raised an eyebrow, but she put two and two together at what could possibly make her friends react this way.

The silence, the smell…

"…_Oh_." Toph said grave realization, now getting it. She didn't say anything else after that.

"Who could've done this?" Katara questioned softly to herself.

Aang stepped towards the dead body on the chair, examining his decease form. Frowning sadly, he put his hands together in a prayer pose and bowed a little, blessing him.

Katara and Zuko looked on at the scene, feeling both sadness and pity for the man, who likely has been tortured for some reason. Zuko distracted himself away from the dead body to look around the third floor, in which he noticed something interesting.

There was a large metal circled grated floor in the middle of the third level, and up above them were…large multiple funnels hanging from the ceiling…

'_What are those?' _wondered Zuko.

After Aang did his peace blessing on the deceased man, he turned around to the others and said, "I don't really know what's going on myself, but…I think we have to keep on going up."

"So our mission is to go up a lighthouse in stormy weather, huh? Great." Toph said in slight cynicism.

"Well, this place certainly does hold some mystery already." said Katara as she looked around the third level, trying to ignore the dead body sitting on the chair.

Zuko was still looking at the large funnel like contraptions on the ceiling as he walked under them. "Hey, what do you guys make of this?" he asked the two who can see.

Aang and Katara looked up at where Zuko was staring. Both of them held looks of confusion.

"I don't have any idea what those things are." Aang said, at a loss of what they could be.

"Beats me." Katara shrugged.

"What do you see?" asked Toph.

"Some funnel looking…things…on the ceiling." Aang replied, trying to explain what they were.

"Oh." Toph replied back, 'looking' up at the ceiling.

After Katara stopped observing the ceiling, she looked behind her to see yet another plaque next to the staircase. She read this one out loud.

"_IN NEW NIRVANA SOIL, SHALL I PLANT THEE._"

"…Huh?" inquired Toph.

"It's another plaque. We've been encountering three of them as we went up the lighthouse. This should be the fourth one." Zuko explained.

"Oh. Well, what have they've been saying?" Toph asked.

"I think they mostly have been talking about spiritual cleansing." Katara guessed.

"_Spiritual cleansing_? Now that definitely reeks of a cult." Toph said with a frown.

"Aw come on Toph, spiritual cleansing is used for almost everyone." chimed Aang.

"Tch! Yeah, _almost _everyone. If it involves water and _cleansing_, as in _getting_ _clean _away from my dirt, then _no_ _way_! …No offense on the water part, Sugar Queen." Toph said.

Katara chuckled softly. "None taken."

Thunder still erupted from outside, making Toph once again jump in surprise.

"S-so are we waiting for something or are we going up!?" Toph stuttered.

Aang smiled at her in reassurance. "I think now would be a good time to go up."

"Good, let's go!" Toph said, in a hurry to get this over with.

Toph apparently was first as she walked up the stairs in a rush, with the other three, Katara, Zuko, and Aang right behind her. As they went up the last pair of stairs, Aang took one last look at the dead body. He sighed glumly, _'I hope we don't have to deal with a lot of death in this mission.'_

* * *

They arrived at the top of the lighthouse, which unfortunately, didn't have a roof. As they reached to the top, they quickly surveyed their surroundings. Strangely enough, there were four ball-like structures on the large gallery surrounding where the lantern room is. The rain was still coming down gradually, basically getting them all a little bit wet, with the wind blowing hard, as Aang was holding onto his hat, while Katara and Toph hold onto their skirts.

"Okay, so we're here! What now!?" Toph yelled over the wind.

"Umm…" Aang looked around the area. "…Hold on!" he said as he ran to one of the structures. Examining it, he touched the exterior, which felt like weak stone. Looking around for anything else, he circled around it, trying to see if he can spot anything…until he founded something.

There was a hand-print on the structure.

Baffled by that, there was also something else that caught his interest.

It had the Air symbol on it.

Aang blinked in puzzlement at this.

"Aang! Did you find anything!?" Katara yelled through the wind, hugging herself so she won't be cold.

"I think the rain is starting to get little heavier!" Zuko noted.

Aang gazed around the gallery at the remaining three sphere-like structures. He quickly dashed to another one that was nearest to him to see if he can find a different symbol. Sure enough, he found a hand-print with the Earth insignia on it. "Guys! Check everyone of these things! I think this will lead us to wherever we need to go! Find a hand-print that might have an insignia of a different element nation! This one has the Earth symbol on it!" he exclaimed.

Katara and Zuko looked at each other in question, while Toph hollered over the wind, "It does!? What does that mean!?"

Aang stood there in thought. "…I think we need to put our hands on them and…I don't know, bend them, I think!" he exclaimed as he speculated.

"Well, I'll try anything at this point!" Zuko exclaimed as he went to one of the spheres. "Hey! I found one with a hand-print with the Fire Nation symbol above it!"

Katara went to the ball structure further away from where Zuko was, and examined it. She also found the Water insignia above a hand-print as well. "Here's one with the Water symbol on it!"

_**KKKKKERPOOOOOOWWWW!**_

"AAAHHH!" Toph jumped, but not so much as her skirt would fly everywhere. "Come on, let's get this over with!" she yelled.

All four of the benders started bending their element to the place where the hand-print is. Katara, gathering water from the rain, Toph, ready to bend the stone ball into pieces, Zuko, conjuring up fire in his palm, and Aang, readying himself to give it a push of air into it, all got into ready stances.

They unleashed their element on each other's spheres…

…the spheres started to crack.

Then…

_**Crrrummmmbbblllleeee…**_

…The stone spheres crumbled to pieces, to reveal…

Aang and the gang stepped away from each crumbled mess to witness a metal pod of some sort…

The metal pods looked like eggs, which they have bronze shells, and intricate metal work on them. There were glass windows on each pod in front them. Looking inside of the pods were cushioned seats.

"…Well, what is it?" asked an impatient Toph.

"Uh…I'm not sure." said a confused Aang.

"They're…pods of some kind." Zuko said as he studied them.

"Are we supposed to get in these things? There's no door." Katara said, looking for a handle.

Suddenly…

_**PHHIIISSSHH!**_

Toph and Katara yelped. Aang and Zuko took a step back.

The doors on the pods made a sound that sounded like air releasing…the doors went in the pods and slid to their left side, making them have an entryway inside them.

Katara, still startled from what had happened, said, "Oh…well that…works..."

"What a minute. Are we suppose to enter these…uh, pods?" asked a wary Toph.

Aang studied it some more. "…Uh…I…think so."

More intense thunder rolled in.

"I'm getting in!" said an alarmed Toph.

The others decided too as well, before the rain-pour started to come in.

* * *

Aang sat on the chair, which was comfortable to sat at the least.

"Okay…now what?" he asked himself.

_**CHIK! CHIK!**_

"Huh!?" Aang looked down at his wrists that were on the arm chairs.

They were strapped on!

"W-what-"

The door closed.

* * *

Zuko struggled in the wrist constraints. The door was closed.

'_Wha-what's going on!?' _he thought frantically.

* * *

"Uh…guys?" said a timid Katara. Her wrists were bounded and the door was closed.

* * *

"What the-HEY!" Toph felt constraints on her wrists. She heard the door closed.

"WHAT'S GOING ON!?" she exclaimed.

* * *

"Okay…just stay calm…" Aang said to himself, not really knowing what's going on.

Then a monotonous, strange sounding, female voice came into the pod.

"_**Salutations, visitor from Ground Below. Mind the restraints. They are for your safety."**_

* * *

"What…who's there!?" Zuko said as he anxiously looked around for the voice.

"_**Countdown to ascension begins in the count of five…"**_

"What!?" said a confused Zuko. Then he felt a tremor and heard roaring.

* * *

"Wh-what's that?" Katara said apprehensively, feeling the vibration and hearing the sound of a deafening roar.

"_**...four…"**_

"...Aang…Zuko…Toph?" she said nervously. She was feeling claustrophobic all of a sudden.

"…_**.three…"**_

* * *

Toph was struggling to get the restraints off, but couldn't. All she could grab were plush arm chairs.

"…_**two…"**_

"GUYS!? WHERE ARE YOU!?" Toph said in a panic. She did not like the sounds she's hearing.

* * *

"…_**one…"**_

Then…

_**FFFWWWWWOOOOOOOOSSSSSHHHH!**_

"AAAAAHHH!" Aang yelled as he felt like he was being sent off into the air…which he was!

* * *

Zuko's eyes widen as he was being pulled towards his seat, the pod he was in violently ascending him up into the sky. Out from his window, he could see the landscape growing smaller. He could also see that the other pods that Aang, Katara, and Toph were in blasting off in, were shooting up into the sky as well, with fire erupting from the bottom of their pods.

"_**Ascension…ascension…"**_

'_WHAT IS ALL OF THIS!?' _Zuko screamed into his mind.

* * *

Katara was staring straight ahead in fear, hyperventilating as she was looking at the passing clouds as she was rising higher and higher.

_**"...Five thousand feet..."**_

_'This...this can't be happening!' _

* * *

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH !" Toph screamed, her eyes widen in terror. She never felt this scared before in her life. And the worst part of it is…she can't see what was happening!

"_**…ten thousand feet…"**_

"Oh spirits, oh spirits, oh spirits, oh spirits, oh spirits, oh spirits, _oh SPIRITS!_" Toph sputtered.

'_Is this it? Am I going to…die?'_

* * *

'_What have I gotten ourselves into!?'_ Aang frantically thought.

Was this supposed to happen? Where were they going!? Why were they going _higher_!?

"…_**fifteen thousand feet…"**_

Sitting there in his chair, his face showing a look of helplessness, he said each of his friend's names in despair, "Zuko…Toph…_Katara_…" Aang's eyes widen, realizing he just put them in harm's way. "…No…I-I'm so sorry. I'm sorry I dragged you all into this…" He closed his eyes, waiting for something bad to happen at any moment.

And then…light.

"…_**Praise the Spirits…"**_

…Aang slowly opened his eyes.

His eyes once again widened, but this time, in shock.

"…What?" he said in a whisper.

The rocket ship pod had stopped accelerating, as it was floating downward in slow speeds…but outside was what really struck him with awe…

* * *

"W-…what?" Zuko said, as calmed himself to gaze at the marvelous sight before him.

* * *

Katara's eyes were wide in awe and wonder. "…Oh my…gosh…"

* * *

"…What-what happened? Hello? G-guys!?" Toph called out, her heart racing in her chest as she takes fast deep breaths.

* * *

"…Is…is this real?" Aang asked in wonderment.

What he and the rest of the gang were seeing…

…was a wondrous, vast floating city in the sky…

The mechanical recorded voice then spoke out to them…

"_**You have reached paradise. Welcome to Airloft."**_

* * *

**(1. It's a candlestick phone. You know, those skinny looking phones?**

**(2. A typewriter. :P**

**WHEW! And that's the first chapter! I hope you're all enjoying it so far, and I hope I got the characters in character! Please tell me your thoughts on this story, I would really like to hear a review from you! :D**

**About them in different clothes, I hope that doesn't bother anyone. They have to look the look to be in the city of Airloft(the city I made up in replacement of Columbia in Bioshock Infinite)!**

**Just to let you all know, again, this will be NOT be like the game…sort of. I will put elements and scenes from the game in it, and I will actually put in a familiar enemy or two, but it won't be a cookie cutter version of it. Don't worry, I got some big plans for this story…BIG PLANS. ;) **

**But yeah, tell me you thoughts! I love to hear them! :)**

**Oh! By the way, I have to warn you guys, since the game IS pretty violent, this story MIGHT be bumped up to an M rating after a while. Just to give you a heads up.**

**What will happen next time? How will the Gaang fair against this new and majestic city? And what's this? ANOTHER visitor from Down Below? Who is this mysterious person, and why is HE in Airloft? Find out next time! :D**

**...Although it may take a LONG while for me to get back on this story. I have TONS of chapters from other stories that I NEED to update. D8 ****I just felt like this needs to be put out here just so you'll know what's to come. ;D**

**Well, that's all I have to report! See you all later! :)**


	2. Cleansed

**A/N: Here it is! Chapter two! :D**

**Before I begin the next chapter through, let me just say to remind you all again, PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW. I really mean it you guys. If you honestly think is going to be some drawn-out, cookie-cutter Avatar interpretation of Bioshock Infinite the GAME, then you're sadly mistaken. Come on guys, give it a chance. I like to hear your thoughts about it! Believe me, this is a 100 percent different take on the game. Trust me on this! :) I'm alternating some things in the game's story to make it work in my version. Read it and tell me if I'm going in the right direction. :)**

**But for those who have reviewed, I thank you so much! They make me so happy! ^_^**

**Now, this chapter is more of an introduction to my version of Booker(whom I changed his name) in this story, which means we'll have to go through the whole setting of the lighthouse again. But don't worry! I'm not going to describe the whole place again! Heck, you can even say the lighthouse is completely **_**different**_**! ;D **

**Also, this is my first story where I let a character say one of the bad cuss words. I feel a little uncomfortable about it, but it's what he says in the game and I have to keep his character, so that means I have to write it. I won't however, take the Lord's name in vain. That's where I draw the line. Also, I probably won't say the F-word. I'm a Christian believe it or not, so…yeah. :P**

**And now, without further ado, let's get this show on the road! :D**

* * *

_Off the west coast of the Earth Kingdom…_

_**KKKKRRRRKKKK!**_

The storm was getting heavier.

'_Bring us the girl, and wipe away the debts.' _

That was the plan.

And here he was, on a rowboat to his destination.

He hated boats. Especially small ones like rowboats. A boat like this one makes him nervous, like it's going to topple over anytime. But mostly he hates them because they sometimes make his stomach queasy…that and he can't swim. But nonetheless, he has to suck it up if he wants to complete this job.

When he got this job, this _LAST _job…he wondered if what they offered him will be enough. Enough to wash away the things he's done.

…To forget.

A man in his mid-thirties, he has short brown hair, wears a red ascot around his neck, a taupe sports-coat with a metallic sheen to it, a blue button up shirt, along with a white collar sticking out of it, and brown khaki pants with a belt, completed with brown shoes. His facial features are very sharp and masculine.

He was in a rowboat with two other people in yellow raincoat getups, one male, and one female. A lantern was hanging on the bow to light the way for the male, who was doing the rowing at the bow, while the female was sitting in the middle of the boat, facing the man who was rowing. They were chattering away about some things, he really wasn't paying attention. They must be a married couple by the way they were talking to each other. He met them at the coast; they didn't say their names, which was fine with him, he's not really good with pleasantries. Actually, he doesn't like to talk much, period.

"Are you going to just sit there?" the man rowing asked the woman.

"As compared to what? Standing?" the woman replied.

"Not standing. _Rowing_."

"Rowing?" she scoffed. "I haven't planned on it."

As she said that, she turned around to pass a wooden box to the man who was behind the woman, their guest. The guest took it and

"What's this?" The guest questioned the woman. She ignored him and went back to her conversation to the rower, in which he said, "So you expect me to shoulder the burden?"

The man raised an eyebrow at the notion. He looked down at the front on the box.

There was a golden plaque that said, **"Property of Rekoob: Unit 7, Wounded Finger"**.

'_Well, that's me.' _the man whose name is Rekoob thought dryly.

"No, but I expected you to do all the rowing." answered back the woman.

"And why is that?"

"Coming here was your idea."

"_My_ idea?"

"I've made it very clear that I don't believe in the exercise."

"The rowing?"

"No. I imagine that's wonderful exercise."

"Then what?"

"The entire _thought_ experiment."

While they had a pause in their talking, the guest, Rekoob, said to them, "Excuse me? How much longer?"

Once again, he was ignored.

"One goes into an experiment knowing one could fail." The man suggested.

"But one does not undertake an experiment knowing one HAS failed."

Rekoob rolled his eyes at the couple and looked down at the box again, opening it with the lid up. Inside was a semi-automatic pistol, in which he picked up first and checked to see if the bullets were in.

"That'll work." He muttered to himself and pocketed the gun in his holster. He also found a drawing piece on the inside of the lid of three objects, a scroll, a key, and a sword. Each of them had numbers next to them; the scroll, one; the key, two; and the sword, two. Another thing that was stuck on the inside of the lid was a postcard that has a pagoda tower on it. The postcard itself revealed the place as 'Monument Island'. Curiously, he took off the pieces of paper and put them in his other pocket.

Looking at the contents in the box, there was a key that has an emblem at the top of it with a birdcage on one side, and a bird on the other side. He picked it up and examined it. Through with that, he pocketed it. There was also a piece of paper that has the words 'Ba Sing Se' on it, with the latitude and longitude posted on it that passes by as directions on where to drop her off, some money, a black and white photo of a teenage girl with her back turned in the picture, barely catching a glimpse of her face. He pocketed the two items as well, but observed the photo. The girl was wearing a long sleeved blouse shirt, along with a skirt, her hair in a long ponytail. She was also carrying a book in her right hand. Rekoob then flipped it over, revealing a message on the back.

_Bring to Ba Sing Se unharmed._

Putting the picture inside his breast pocket, he closed the box.

"Can we get back to the rowing?" the man asked.

"I suggest you do or we're never going to get there." replied the woman.

"No, I mean I'd _greatly_ appreciate it if you would assist."

"Perhaps you should ask him?" the lady motioned to Rekoob. "I imagine he has a greater interest in getting there than I do."

"I suppose he does. But there's no point in asking."

"Why not?"

"Because he doesn't row."

"He doesn't _ROW_?"

"No. He _doesn't _row."

"…Ah. I see what you mean."

They stopped talking after that. Rekoob gazed upward to see a rotating light on top of a slowly transparent building; a lighthouse. They were approaching closer to their destination. A minute later, a wooden docking ramp came into view, complete with a fisherman's shack. The ramp was connected to the stone island formation that the lighthouse was built on; its plain white colored stone exterior being basked in what light is left of the cloudy day.

"We've arrived." The woman said, stating the obvious. The rowboat came to a gradual stop.

Rekoob took quick glances at his environment. He glanced at the ramp, the lighthouse, and the sea that surrounded him. He was basically in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by water, and the town behind them was four miles away. He looked to his left to see that a latter was attached to the ramp. He grabbed onto it with both hands and pulled himself up to it, climbing each step carefully. After reaching and climbing up the ramp, he stood there for a moment to give one last look up at his destination.

'_Well, this is it…' _Rekoob thought as he shields his eyes from the rain. He really should've thought of buying a raincoat before coming here, but if it wasn't for his poor finances…

"Shall we tell him when we'll be returning?" the lady asked the man rowing. The two in the rowboat were turning the boat around to head back to the direction of the shore.

"Would that change anything?" the rower man replied with a question of his own.

"It might give him some comfort."

"At least that's something we can agree on."

"Hey!" Rekoob yelled out. "Is somebody meeting me here!?"

"I'd certainly hope so!" The man yelled out to Rekoob.

"It does seem like a dreadful place to be stranded!" the woman also yelled out to him.

And that was that. They were stroking their way back to the shore. Rekoob watched as they drifted away from the lighthouse, the waves carrying them off into the distance.

Rekoob sighed and said softly to himself, "Ah well, maybe there's someone inside…"

More thunder and rain was rolling in, and Rekoob dashed through the ramp, to the stone ground, to the lighthouse stairs, and to the double door entrance. Once he reached the doors, he found a grim note on the left door that looked to be stained with something red:

_Rekoob -_

_Bring us the girl, and wipe away the debts_

_This is your LAST CHANCE_

"Yeah, yeah, I get it." Rekoob muttered as he began knocking on the left side of the door. "Ah, excuse me…it's Rekoob." He made himself known as he pushed open the door with his left hand and went inside. "I guess you're expecting me…"

He looked around his surroundings. Silence met him. The inside of the lighthouse was clean, a support beam in the middle of the first floor, stairs were spiraling upward, barrels, tables, and chairs were placed around. There was a table placed in front of the support beam with a water basin on it filled with water, along with wash towels on the side. There was also a sign hanging on the support beam:

_-OF THY SINS, SHALL I WASH THEE-_

Blinking at the sign, Rekoob walked up to it, stopped in front of it, and looked down at the basin that was filled with water. He can see his reflection, which masked uncertainty. He then looked back up at the sign.

"…Good luck with that, pal."

He then went to the stairs to encounter another hanging sign next to them.

_-FROM GROUND BELOW, SHALL I LEAD THEE-_

Raising an eyebrow at the sign, he kept climbing the steps. "Is anyone here? Hello?"

He reached the second floor to find that there were amenities around, like a bed, a desk, a sink, an oven, and a radio, which was playing a merry tune. Another set of stairs were going up to the third floor. Rekoob slowly studied his environment, feeling a little bit uneasy.

"…" Rekoob was silent as he walked to the radio and turned it off. He listened for any sound, anything that indicates any life was here. He decided to trek to the next case of stairs, but not until reading another hanging sign next to the stairs.

_-TO THINE OWN LAND, SHALL I TAKE THEE-_

'_More of these signs…' _he thought absently.

He went up the stairs…

…when he reached to the third floor however…

…Rekoob's eyes widen in shock, his mouth slightly agape.

There in a chair, was a clothed dead man**(1)**, whose arms were tied up behind his back, his throat slit, and with a brown bag over his head. Blood was traveling on the floor, making it into a large puddle. But there was one message that was written in red and has it looped around his neck by a thread that caught his eye. It was laying against the deceased man's stomach, which it said:

_DON'T DISAPPOINT US_

"…_shit_!" Rekoob said quietly to himself. The third floor was mostly empty, except for a couple of tables that looked like they had torture devices on them.

'_Damn…these guys are serious!' _

He cautiously passed the corpse as he made his way to the other case of stairs that led to the top of the lighthouse. There was one last sign next to them however. He read it, shifting his attention away from the dead body:

_-IN NEW NIRVANA SOIL, SHALL I PLANT THEE-_

Not knowing what all these signs mean, he just decided to disregard them and move on to the top of the lighthouse, leaving the corpse behind.

"Okay, if no one's meeting me here, then what else is there to do?" Rekoob questioned himself.

He climbed the stairs all the way to the top of the gallery of the lighthouse while the rain was still coming down. As he reached the gallery, he found the door that leads to the lantern room. However, this door looked peculiar…

"What the…?" Rekoob observed the door.

The door to the lantern room had three bells with strings attached to the clappers on it. Above each of them were circled bulbs, and behind the three bells was a metal emblem of someone, a woman in robes(probably a monk), spreading her arms wide open, her sleeves drooping down, and her hair flowing and framing her face, with the background looking as if she was radiating with a holy light. She was also wearing a low beaded necklace.

But there were a few other things that caught his eye. The bells on the door have drawn symbols on them. The first was a scroll, the second a key, and the third a sword.

"Wait a minute, that card." Rekoob said as he was fishing out the card that had drawn symbols on it as well. Shielding it from the rain, he looked at it again.

Scroll, one. Key, two. And sword, two.

"Huh…well, it's worth a shot." Rekoob commented.

He began ringing the scroll bell once, the key bell twice, and the sword bell twice as well. The bulbs above them lit up as he rang them.

…Nothing happened…yet.

"…Hm…"

Then…

_**SHWUP!**_

Rekoob blinked. "What the…?"

The bulbs above the bells are…flashing a red light. One flashed red above the scroll bell.

_**SHWUP! SHWUP!**_

Two times above the key bell.

_**SHWUP! SHWUP!**_

Two times above the sword bell…

Rekoob looked on in fascinated wonder.

Then…

_**BBBBRRRRRRRRRRRRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!**_

A loud foghorn noise emerged from out of nowhere! As the sound reverberates greatly across the area, the lantern room then started to glow a hue of red as it shines out of the windows and syncs with the sound.

Startled, Rekoob backed away from the red glow of the lantern room hastily as he glanced rapidly around to find the source of the powerful noise.

…_**BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU! **_

The noise changed its pitch.

…_**BRRRRRRRRRRRRRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!**_

"What…in the world?" Rekoob looked back at the door to the lantern room.

…_**BRRRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!**_

Rekoob stood there in puzzled silence.

…_**BRRRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!**_

The noise had stopped.

Rekoob stood there, wondering if anything else was going to happen.

…_**CHA-CUNK!**_

It sounded like a door unlocking. The bells on the door lowered themselves a bit…

…_**SHIIIK!**_

The door then suddenly opened inward to the lantern room. He kept his focus straight ahead at the entrance to the lantern room, as inside of it, there was much activity, as he can tell from looking in. The lens chamber was going upward, while the center platform _flipped over_ on its other side to reveal…

…A red plush chair.

The chair looks like the ones you'd see in a barbershop, with a bottom footrest to complete it.

"…Huh. Alright, it looks like they want me to sit on their fancy chair." Rekoob said to himself.

Cautiously, he walked over to the chair, examining it. Gazing around the room to see if anything would pop up, he carefully sat on it.

As he sat, Rekoob said, "Okay…now what-"

_**CHIK! CHIK!**_

"-the hell!?"

Rekoob looked down to see that his wrists were strapped on the arms of the chair! A loud hissing noise caught his attention as four sections around the platform of the chair were opening up, revealing six strips of thin but thick metal from each direction, while the platform was rotating his position around in a circle. A monotonous female voice then appeared.

"_**Make yourself ready, dear guest. The bindings are there as a safeguard." **_

Once all the strips were up, they closed in on Rekoob's position, and they joined with the other pieces as they snapped in place. He was now facing one strip that has a window, along with the left and right metal strips having meters and gauges next to it.

"Oooooh no…" Rekoob said, now feeling very uneasy. His eyes shifted everywhere, looking at the surroundings that trapped him in. "No, no, this can't be goo-AAH!" Rekoob yelled out for the last second, the platform suddenly turning downward. From his point of view, he could see four huge funnels that looked like they were about to erupt from the bottom…which they did. To make matters worse for Rekoob, his gun fell out of his holster and into fire below.

"Oh, no no no-AH…_damn it_!" Rekoob cursed.

After the engines started roaring, the platform and the chair sat straight up again.

The voice spoke again.

"_**Ascension…Ascension in the count of FIVE…Count of FOUR…"**_

"Oh no…no, no, no, no!" Rekoob said hopelessly. He looked outside to see that the whole shuttle was shaking and small debris was coming from the ceiling.

"…_**THREE…TWO…ONE."**_

"UPH!"

_**FRRRRRRWWWWOOOOOOOOSSSSSHHH!**_

"_**Ascension…Ascension…"**_

Rekoob started to panic, but kept his cool. "Okay, just stay calm." He tried reassuring himself.

"_**Five thousand feet…ten thousand feet…fifteen thousand feet…"**_

Rekoob was getting more anxious. He could see the reflection of himself on the window and could see the anxiety on his face.

'_Oh, what the HELL did I just get myself into!?'_

But then…something happened.

The rocket ship was starting to glow a pure white.**(2)**

"Ah no, now what!?" He said to himself, irritably apprehensive. Rekoob expected the worse to come now…

But then all of a sudden…a flash.

"ACK!"

"…_**Praise the Spirits…"**_

* * *

They were…floating…

Aang's eyes adjusted to the sight before him.

In all of his years of exploring around the world, he had never witness anything so…_beautiful_ …

…so _majestic…_

…so _magnificent_…

…so…_surreal_.

"…_Wow_…" was all Aang could say in amazement.

The scene in front of him was just as he described it. There were buildings, all of them in different shapes and sizes with influential touches of Earth Kingdom architecture, along with some new architectural design that looked pleasing to the eye. Some buildings were ten stories high, maybe even higher. There were clouds all around them…some clouds that looked like they were carrying the buildings themselves! The grounds that the buildings floated on were even in different levels of altitude, some grounds high and some grounds low. They almost looked like…islands. Islands on air…

Something else caught Aang's eye; an airship. An enormous airship was flying past him and his descending pod. The airship almost looks like it belongs to the Fire Nation, but it looked a little more advanced, with its propeller fans operating on each side of its two wings, the long carrier underneath the massive air balloon, to the modern tail of the ship. It flew by, not minding the person in the descending pod the slightest. There was also a huge bridge that was connected to both of these air islands. The structure was majestic as well, with cables attached onto each tower of the bridge. The bridge itself also had powerful fans underneath the bridge to keep it afloat.

But the most noticeable thing of all about the city was the huge, tall, and grandeur-like pagoda tower. The tower looked like it was placed right in the middle of this levitating city, where all the floating islands surround it. Aang wondered what the tower's purpose in the city could mean, but couldn't keep up with every detail of the city - it was a lot to take in – as the pod came slowly down. His view of the floating city was then blocked, as a belfry tower came into his line of vision.

Aang noticed that below the belfry was a banner; it was a bust of a seemingly elderly man with a full white beard with a wispy tail that hangs at the center of his chest. He also had white sideburns, and has white hair around the back of his head, making him bald from the front and top of his crown. His eyebrows are even white, making his appearance all in all look seventy years old. His gaze though looks commanding and intense. He couldn't see the eyes real well, due to the moving pod going downward, but just from the man's gaze alone looks he could see someone's soul.

The banner did show something else; words were printed on it. From the top of the banner to the bottom of it, it said:

_**Father Shozu**_

_**Our Savior **_

Aang blinked at that. "Savior…?"

_**CA-CHUNK!**_

A sudden jolt snapped Aang out of his thoughts.

He and the pod that he's in were now on top of a building platform. Outside of the window, he could see the bottom of the buildings, all of them having hot air balloons attached underneath their structure and propeller fans keeping them in flight. The pod then suddenly went down slowly, descending wherever he and his friends are about to go.

'_Wait…' _"My friends!" Aang said in alarm. Where could they be at?

* * *

Katara, dumbstruck with awe, let the scenery she just witnessed sink in…

Her rocket pod was slowly descending down inside the building she landed on, enveloping her in darkness momentarily.

The waterbender couldn't believe what she saw…

Buildings…buildings that were _floating_...in the sky!

How is that even possible!?

She noticed that some mechanisms under the buildings were supposedly keeping them afloat, but still, even with all that equipped, she wouldn't think that some propeller fans and hot air balloons would be enough to hold that much weight structure. Katara shook her head to clear her thoughts of wonder for a moment to focus on the situation at hand. She and her friends were in these pods, that just _flew_ up to the sky, arrived in a FLOATING city, landed somewhere(at least she hopes they all did), and now were going down to wherever these shafts were taking them.

And there was also the questioning banner that depicted the man named _Shozu _before she landed.

'_Savior? …That's interesting. What did this man do to earn that title?' _she thought curiously.

Before Katara could think anything more about it, light has flooded back into her window. Even bigger windows in the building came into view, which were lined vertically, shining brightly to make the rays of light seem…heavenly.

But there were more things to note in the building as well; like the giant pendulum like objects and the gears operating inside of it, along with chains and pipes adorning the interior. But the last interesting detail that she noticed as the pod was slowly descending and while she was looking out the window, piercing rays from the sun revealed a message encrypted in a steel beam, as it passed by quickly as it had appeared.

**WHY WOULD THE SPIRITS SEND THE AVATAR UNTO US,**

Katara blinked at the sentence in confusion. "What the…what's this all about?"

Another message engraved on a steel beam, continued where the other left off.

**IF WE WILL NOT RAISE A FINGER FOR OUR OWN SAKE?**

* * *

Zuko blinked in puzzlement. "What does that mean?" he said quietly.

A new message appeared on another steel beam.

**AND THOUGH WE DESERVED NOT THE CRAFT,**

"The craft?" inquired Zuko.

Another steel beam passed by.

**OUR SAVIOR WILL LEAD US TO ENLIGTENMENT,**

'_Maybe Toph was right. Maybe we are dealing with some sort of cult…'_

One last beam passed by.

**A LAST CHANCE TO FULLY LIVE.**

"…To fully live?" Zuko said to himself, not sure what to make of that.

* * *

"…Hello!?" Toph called out again for the third time. Her first reaction to being lifted so _high _into the air was appropriate enough, but now that she knows that she's going to live, she's completely relieved, albeit she's still a little jumpy after that experience. Nonetheless, Toph managed to keep her cool after it was over. Of course, she couldn't see what was happening, which set her on edge. She _hated_ to be away from her earth, it makes her feel truly blind! Wherever this pod is taking her - which she could feel the slight vibration of it going down - she just hopes there will be some earth there for her feet to walk on.

Toph then felt the pod go to a gradual stop.

"Hey! Is…is anyone here?" Toph called out again.

_**TTSSSSHHH!**_

"Ah!" Toph yelped. The door hissed as it slid to its right.

_**CHA-CHIK! CHA-CHIK!**_

Toph felt the wrist restraints snap off. She grunted in relief as she rubbed her wrists.

'_Okay, I think the worst is over. Now to see where the heck I am.' _She thought as she got out of her rocket ship pod. Feet now planted on the ground, she stomped one foot to 'see' her environment. It seem to be a wide area; there was a walkway to the far left.

She began to take the first step to this foreign place…

_**SPLASH! **_

"Huh?!" Toph inquired as she lifted her foot out of the wet sensation on her foot. "…Water?"

"Toph!?"

Toph turned where the sound of the voice was. "Aang!?"

She heard ground footsteps first and then splashing footsteps, along with him muttering, "What's all this?" to the water that seem to flood the whole room.

"Twinkles! Where are we!? What's going on!?" Toph said as dipped her foot in the water to see that there was a shallow bottom to it.

Aang turned to his friend with a frown, "I don't really know. This is all new to me." He said with a hopeless shrug.

"You mean Roku hadn't told you anything else?" Toph said in disbelief.

Aang rubbed the back of his head. "Well…he was in a hurry to get us here, so…basically, no."

"Are you serious!? Then where are we!?"

Aang stood there and thought in ankle deep water. He remembered the name that the voice said while he was in the pod…

"…We're in some kind of…floating city called Airloft."

"…A…_floating_ city?" Toph said slowly and dubiously.

"Look, I know what you're thinking, but that's what I saw! We're on a floating city!"

Toph's eyes widen at the truth that Aang spoken. "…Wait a minute…are you telling me that…we're on a city that's fifteen thousand feet into the air, which is technically in the _SKY_!? Cause I heard something like that in the pod. Is that true!?"

Aang scratched the side of side of his face timidly; afraid on how she will act. "Um…yes?"

Toph stood there, flabbergasted, with her feet drenched in water, her mouth slightly agape. "…" She shook her head. "O…okay then…so…can I ask _WHY _is there a city in the sky?"

"Uh…that, I have no idea…" Aang replied awkwardly.

"…Great. Not only that I had the biggest scare of my life while screaming my head off, but now we're in a city that floats high into the SKY! Fan-freaking-tastic! I bet the laws of physics are rolling in their graves by now!" Toph exclaimed exasperatedly.

Aang frowned sadly at Toph. _'Oh man, that's right.' _He would bet that being shot up into the sky can be a nightmare for someone like Toph. He can probably imagine that was a terrifying experience for her. Aang looked at the ground/water to see his reflection and said in apology, "I'm sorry."

Toph ceased her grumbling and turned her attention to Aang. "Sorry? For what?"

"For putting you, Zuko, and Katara into this situation. I didn't know this was going happen…" he frowned even further. "I just wish we find out what we need to do and just _do_ it."

Toph stood there for a moment…she sighed, and said, "Aang, look, it's not your fault. It's not like you _dragged _us over here, and you wouldn't have known this was going to happen. We pretty much just got dumped here by coincidence."

"Well…yeah…I guess…" Aang glanced to his right. He noticed the stained glass window as he got out of the pod, but his attention was on Toph when she spoke. Now that he's looking to his right, he can fully grasp what he was looking at.

The stained glass window depicted a scene of some sort. It showed a full body picture of a man, which looked like the man on the banner, in brown elegant clothes that look really different. He had on a pair of pants, shoes, a large coat on, and a large piece of fabric wrapped around his neck to make him look like he had somewhat of a cape. He was pointing with his right hand and arm in the distance with people looking on at him that had expressions of happiness, joy, and relief. Some even looked like they were _praying _to him. But the one thing that Aang noticed on what he was pointing at in the distance of the hills and valleys was…a floating island. He used his other hand to gesture the people to follow him.

That's not all, though. Aang looked up at the top of the stained glass window and saw a message there. The message was on a stone material that was crafted to make it look like a wide flowing scroll, each of the handles spread left and right. The message said:

**AND THE SAVIOR SHALL LEAD THE PURITIES TO ENLIGHTENMENT.**

"What is it? Are you looking at something?" Toph questioned after Aang went silent.

"Yeah…it's some sort of stained glass window with a plaque on top that has writing on it. It's kind of written in the way like the messages I saw while I was going down." Aang described it.

"While you were going down?" Toph raised an eyebrow. "Well, I obviously couldn't see them. What were they saying?"

"Um…I think they were talking about…a 'savior' or something of the sort." Aang tried to explained.

"Savior?" Toph tilted her head a bit in confusion. "Really? What did this person do that was so special?"

"Beats me." Aang shrugged. "This one here though just said something about the 'savior will lead the purities to enlightenment'.

"…The savior will lead the _purities _to enlightenment?" Toph said incredulously as she blinked. "…Yep, I knew it! We're dealing with a cult! What did I tell ya?" she said as she shook her head and threw her arms in the air.

"Wait a minute, Toph! We don't know for certain." Aang reasoned.

"Oh come on Twinkletoes, who says this kind of stuff? It'd be either a religious person or a kook in a cult!"

"But we don't even know the story of this…um…movement. Besides, we're in the future. Something must've changed…" Aang said. He then frowned thoughtfully, as he remembered the first and second writing he saw, that involves the mentioning of the Avatar.

'_**Why would the Spirits send the Avatar unto us, if we will not raise a finger for our own sake?'**_

"Twinkles?"

Aang snapped out of his thoughts and said, "Huh?"

"You're standing really still. You alright?" Toph asked, her arms crossing over her chest.

"Oh, um…yeah, I'm alright. It's just…I hope things haven't changed _too_ drastically."

Toph felt there was a hidden meaning on what he said, but decided not to touch on it. "Hey, we're on a floating city in the sky. I count that as a drastic change." Toph shrugged. "Right now though, I think we need to find Sugar Queen and Sparky. I don't hear or feel their footsteps, and I don't think I can with all this water here. What's up with this place anyway? Why the water?" she asked, befuddled.

Aang looked around the room to see that the whole floor was indeed, filled with ankle deep water, though there were also lots and _lots _of candles that were lit and scattered across every nook and cranny, table, edges of sculptures, and on the water even. "I don't know…but you are right. We need to find Katara and Zuko. And it already looks like they didn't arrive with us. There are only two of our pods here."

"Do you think they're still here?" asked Toph.

"They have to be. They must be in another section of this…city."

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's find them! I want to get out of this place immediately so I can get my feet dry!"

"Right." Aang nodded as he patted the hat on his head. He might need to keep it on, so people won't mistake his head tattoo as his past self, since he was the last one. As soon as they went left and reached to a downstairs pathway, however, Aang remembered something. "Wait! Toph!" he said as he stopped her by grabbing her shoulder.

"Hey!" Toph said, shaking the hand off. "What's the big idea!?"

"Toph, listen, remember when I said that we couldn't use our bending when we got here? That still stands, so _please_ don't use your bending for now. Remember, use it only when necessary!" Aang clarified.

Toph sighed exasperatedly with a roll of her sightless eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I heard, don't get your undies in a bunch. I don't see why I can't, but eh, whatever, you're the Avatar."

Aang smiled at the good enough answer. "Thanks Toph. Also, watch out for the candles."

"Candles?" Toph asked, a confused expression on her face.

"Yeah, they're all over the place. On the floor, on the ledges and on tables, and even in the corners. Just wanted to warn you."

"Ugh. Terrific. Now I have to dodge candles as I walk on this stupid water." Toph grunted.

"Um…I can guide you on where to walk, if you want me to?" Aang hesitantly offered.

"…" Toph sighed in defeat. "…Just don't make me step on one of them, got it Twinkletoes?"

Aang smiled at Toph again. "Sure thing."

And with that they walked on, their feet splashing in the water.

* * *

"And the Savior shall lead the…Purities to Enlightenment?" Katara read, raising her eyebrow at the scroll-like plaque above another stained glass window depicting the same image of the man pointing at the floating piece of land. Zuko was looking at it as well, albeit strangely.

Zuko and Katara came out of their separate pods to reunite once again. Although glad to see each other, there were two others that were missing. Stepping in the ankle deep water, they surveyed their surroundings. The one thing that they noticed immediately was what they were staring at now.

"…I'm starting to think Toph was spot on about that cult stuff." Zuko said, expressing his opinion.

"Well…maybe he really did do something special to be called a 'savior'?" Katara asked herself, staring at the image and curious about whom this man 'Shozu' is.

"Maybe. But I would think the Avatar deserved that title." Zuko said, speaking his mind. He looked to his right to see a pathway to some stairs going downward to another area. "Speaking of which, we need to find Aang and Toph. It looks like they weren't here with us."

Katara averted her gaze from the stained glass image at the mention of her friends, "Do…do you think they made it safely?" she asked Zuko.

"I would think so. These pods linked themselves here onto this…place, or…city. So in that case, there must be other places like this."

Katara had a determined look on her face and nodded. "Then let's go find them."

They followed the only pathway that led them down to the other area. While they were walking, they came upon another large plaque above them while entering the other open room.

**AND THE SEED OF THE HOLY ONE SHALL SIT THE THRONE AND DROWN IN FLAME THE MOUNTAINS OF THE CRAFT AND IMPURE**

The two looked up at the sign and blinked. "…The Seed?" Zuko questioned.

"The Holy One? Could that…be the same man?" Katara wondered.

"Ah, I thought I heard an arrival up here!" said a cheerful voice.

The two averted the sign to look at a man, who was garbed in a white robe with warm smile on his face.

"Welcome, dear guests! It seems we have young ones entering our fair haven today!"

Zuko and Katara blinked again at the man, and glanced at each other in question. Turning to the man, Katara asked with a smile, "Um, hi there. Do you, uh…know where we are?"

The man chuckled. "Why, you're in Airloft, young one! The closest thing we'll ever get to Nirvana!"

* * *

'…_Best keep questions to myself, 'less I want to get made.' _Rekoob thought.

After almost having a heart-attack, he landed safely to…wherever this place is. He knows he's in some sort of shrine; it looks like it from the way it's built, albeit differently. There were so much stonework, stained glass windows, and lit candles around here. As he walked on shallow water, he could hear soft humming somewhere in the shrine. Going further to the sound, he encountered a circular room with a column that has a statue of the man named 'Shozu', the so called Savior, and Holy One, from what Rekoob could gather.

Two rooms were at his left and right, them being what seem to be worship halls. The floors in each room were also flooded with water as well, with each room having stained glass windows. One of the windows in the left room depicted a beautiful looking woman, dressed in a lithe, flowing blue dress that insinuates her waist and her form, completed with pleats, long sleeves, and intricate designs on the dress. Part of her hair was in an elegant bun while her long sideburns framed her delicates face. There was a plaque on the bottom of the window, which said: **And in my womb shall grow the Seed of the Savior.**

The other window in the right room depicts the same woman, but this time, the man known as Shozu was accompanying her. The woman was behind Shozu, looking over his shoulder with a gentle look on her face, as the man, Shozu, was carrying along a baby. The most interesting part about the window was that there were circles around both the woman, Shozu, and the baby's heads, with colorful 'rays' of light emitting from both of them, making them have a holy effect to it. Shozu, in the art-piece, had a look of tenderness as he looks down on the child as well. There was another plaque on the bottom, in which it said: **The Sheep-Lamb: The future of our City.**

As soon as Rekoob was done looking around each room, he walked into a corridor, where a man in a white garbed robe was approaching him.

"_Oh excellent! Another new arrival! Welcome, welcome!" the man said jovially._

"_Um…excuse me sir, but…where am I?" Rekoob questioned._

_The man chuckled, "Well, some people call it Nirvana here! But in short, you are in the city of true paradise: Airloft!"_

Which led him to where he is now.

He was following the man down to a water soaked stairway…

…to an even wider, more open hall area, with rows of pillars from each direction, horizontal and vertical, along with vertical walkways flooded with water, with even more lit candles, people in white robes, and flooded walkways. Men and women(which the women have white hoods draped over their heads) were slowly walking along in their own flooded walkway, their heads bowed and their hands ready for prayer, all the way to a tunnel opening at the back of the building with a clear, white window above it, shining down on a crowd of more white robed figures. There were also candles on either side on each walkways, some even floating on water. Pillars adorned Rekoob's walkway as they did others, but in his pathway were six pillars with six statues attached to them, which acted as an arch for him. The statues looked to be female monks in fluid robes, their long hair flowing in the supposed wind. They were standing on each side of the pillars, holding up their arms and hands(which the hands were holding candles as well) as if they were glorifying something. This place was also where the melodic humming was coming from.

'_Man, what _is_ this place?' _Rekoob thought as he kept walking. _'That guy said I'm in the city of Airloft, which is the place I need to go, but…either I've been sleeping for a long while, or I've missed something here. There wasn't no city like this where I was from. I actually haven't even heard of this place until now. Hell, I haven't even heard of this Shozu fellow, this so called…'savior'…"_

He glanced around his surroundings, walking as he looked to his left and right as robed people were passing him by on their water filled walkways.

'…_I may be confused, but in the long run, I need to find that girl. As before, just keep the questions to yourself.' _He reminded himself. _'You don't want to start a racket just yet.' _

The man ushered Rekoob to the crowd. As he did, the man called out to them, "Our visitor has arrived!"

The crowd of people turned to them with warm smiles.

"Welcome, brother!"

"Salutations!"

"Greetings, my brother!"

Rekoob stood there uncomfortably and said, "Um…hi." _'Okay…this is kind of weird…' _As he walked up closer to the crowd, there was an elderly man who was wearing a black robe with while trimmings on his neck and on to his sleeves. Behind him was the tunnel, which looks like it leads outside, the water flowing directly into it. The way out had other statues of the same female monk on each side of it, with another plaque above it saying: **The path of purity and forgiveness is the only way to the city.**

"Who is this? Is it someone new? Is it someone from the Ground Below? Newly come to Airloft to be washed clean, before the Holy One, Prophet, and Savior, and to the Spirits?" said the old man in black.

"Um, look, I just need passage into the city." said Rekoob, not really wanting to be the center of attention right now.

"Passage to the city?" the man in black chuckled. "Oh, my brother, the only way to Airloft is through rebirth! You must be drench in the sweet waters of cleansing."

* * *

"_Why hello and greetings to all of you! Welcome, little ones from Ground Below, for you have reached paradise!" said a cheerful white robed and hooded woman who approached Aang and Toph. _

_Aang blinked at the woman while Toph crossed her arms and said, "Okay you. Tell us where we are right now!"_

_Aang turned to his friend in shock, "Toph!"_

"_Oh my!" the lady chuckled wholeheartedly. "You're a lively one!"_

"_I'm sorry! What she means to say is, where are we exactly now?" Aang said as he spoke for Toph. _

"_Dear children, you are all in one of the many Shrines of Shozu, our Savior, Prophet, and Holy One! In here, it is where we worship him, and in here for visitors, it is their first step into entering our fair city, and into pure enlightenment!" explained the woman._

_Toph raised an eyebrow in skepticism. "Really?"_

"_Oh yes! Follow me, young ones!" she ushered them. "The only way to the city is to go through the Hall of Cleansing!" _

"_Hall of Cleansing?" Aang inquired._

"_Yes! It will clear and wash all of the impureness away!" she said excitedly as she led the way to the staircase. _

_Guessing they wanted to follow her, they walked their way to where she was leading them. Certain that she's out of earshot as they walk, Toph whispered to Aang, "See? What did I tell ya? Cult central!" _

"_Well…perhaps this Shozu guy really did do something great to get all this attention? I mean, not only he's said to be a savior, he's also a prophet!" Aang whispered back to Toph. _

"_Prophet? What's that?" Toph asked._

"_I heard about them in stories. Prophets are supposed to be able to foresee the future, to see what happens before it does happen! I never think that there would be a real one, but if this Shozu guy's the real deal, then maybe that's why everyone respects him so much." Aang answered. _

"_Well, telling the future or not, I still think it's kind of creepy that they're worshipping some guy who has the power to see if it's gonna rain the next day." Toph frowned. _

_Aang shrugged. "Maybe we'll meet him soon? I'm kind of curious to see what he's all about." _

After they trek through the water filled stairs, the woman guides them to a grand hall, the water still flooding the entire floor. Before coming down, Toph had heard harmonious humming of some kind while up in the upper floor, and just as her suspicions were correct, it was traveling from this very room.

Aang had heard it too, but really, he found it soothing. He was also mesmerized at how beautiful everything looks, and was even surprised to see female Air Nomad monk statues lining their way. White robed people were walking to the back of the shine to where the way out is. A crowd at the end of the hall was there, and it seems that they were waiting for them. Toph cautiously kept her senses alert as best as she can, just in case they do anything weird. The water was giving her a hard time to sense people's actions. At least she has her ears to back her up.

As they approached the crowd, Aang noticed the tunnel and the plaque above it. After he read it, he shifted his attention to a man with a black robe with white trimmings, who said, "Oh, welcome, welcome! I see we have little ones here entering our glorious city!"

"Okay, look pal, we're not little. We're thirteen! We're basically young adults!" Toph said in annoyance.

"Toph…" Aang pleaded.

Toph just snorted.

The man just laughed warmly, "No, no, she's right! You are in the age of adulthood as of now. My mistake! Sadly though, that is the age when innocence is lost. But fortunately, you've reached the age of new beginnings, your path to purity! So I bid you salutations, as you two enter our city, our true paradise, Airloft!" he stretched out his hand and arm to the tunnel. "And now…we shall begin the cleansing."

* * *

"Cleansing?" Katara questioned as she blinked.

"Why yes! You can't enter the city without being reborn in the sweet waters of cleansing!" said a man in black robes and white trimmings.

"Um…I uh…I'm not comfortable being washed with water." Zuko managed to say, scratching his neck nervously.

"Oh, if you're talking about your clothes, then don't worry about that! Our cleansing is more of cleaning just the mind!" the man in black explained.

The two turned their heads to glance at each other, wondering what they should do. Zuko turned to the preacher and said, "So…you'll just wash our heads?"

"Yes, young one." the preacher**(3)** said as he was handed wet towels by one of the white robed people. He walked to them and said, "Now, are you ready to be rinse _clean_ of your sins, and be reborn, pure again, in the name of our Savior, Prophet and Holy One, and in the name of all the Holy Spirits?"

"Um…" Katara looked at Zuko, who looked back at her, giving each other an uncertain look. Katara then turned to the preacher, who was smiling warmly at her and Zuko.

'_Well…if it's just a simple wash on the head…' _"…Y-yes." Katara nodded.

The preacher then carefully placed the wet towel on her forehead**(4)**, which made her close her eyes at the warm but cool sensation of wet cloth. The preacher then began saying, "Be clean! Be clean, and be born again!" He lowered the cloth down on her face to be washed and put it back on her forehead to do it once more a second time. "Let the Spirits guide you to your path of purity!" He washed her face one final time. "Be reborn again, and _**fully**__**live**_, in the _**name **_of our _**Savior**_, and in the _**name**_ of _**all**_ the _**Spirits**_!" He stopped washing Katara's face. She opened her eyes, feeling…different, somehow.

"And now, for you, young man." The preacher said as he was about to used the next wet towel on Zuko.

"W-wait, I-I didn't-" But the preacher didn't let him finish, as he placed the cloth on Zuko's forehead. The firebender didn't say anything and decided to just give in when the man began washing his face. He did it three times and said his declaration like he had done with Katara.

As he stopped washing Zuko's face, the preacher said onto them. "Now…you may enter Paradise."

* * *

"Now…you may enter Paradise!"

'…_O…kay…'_ Rekoob thought as he stood there, water dripping from his face. He carefully took a step forward, hearing the crowd encouraging him to go further.

"Praise it be!"

"Go on, brother!"

"You're free now! Be pure!"

Rekoob kept walking through the tunnel, guided by the light from outside. _'Well…out I go, I guess.'_

He walked all the way out of the tunnel.

* * *

"Wow…that was…"

"Weird and anti-climatic?" Toph said simply, her face dripping a bit with water.

"I was gonna say different, but…"Aang faltered there. He held onto his hat that was thankfully stuck on his head. While the preacher was washing his face, he had to hold onto the hat on his head so that he won't be exposed as an airbender. Fortunately, the preacher paid no mind to it, as he was still washing his face. When it came to Toph's turn, she tried not to fidget when the cloth came into contact with her face. She really didn't want to do it, but if it's the only way in to this city, then so be it. She'll get 'cleansed' either way, even though she and Aang would have just walked right out of the exit if they wanted to. But like Aang said, they're in a foreign time, and she didn't want to start a ruckus…even though deep down, she wanted to break _some _rule. But thankfully, the preacher just washed her face, so it wasn't that bad. As long as they don't touch her feet, which they felt really clean enough from all the water she was standing on, then everything will go smoothly with her.

After that was done, they entered the tunnel, leaving the robed people and preacher behind as they bid them farewell, waving them off.

"So, what was the whole point of that? I don't feel any different. I don't feel 'reborn' or 'pure' or whatever that guy said." Toph asked.

"It was supposed to affect the spirit...I guess." Aang said, a little unsure on what had happened. He didn't really know too much of this religion, because…well, he just heard of it until now. He did feel different after the cleansing…but he didn't know if he felt different spiritually or mentally.

"Hmph! A splash of water doesn't make the spirit different; it's what you _do_ with it that makes it different. And even if we try to be all pure, we're still gonna mess up. That path is too hard to follow, so I just let myself be who I am, along with trying to make good decisions along the way! That's all I can do for my spirit." Toph clarified.

Aang turned his head to Toph in interest. "…Huh…I thought you said you weren't too keen on that spiritual stuff."

"Hey, we got to go somewhere when we die." Toph said casually with a shrug.

Aang blinked at her as they walked. "…Well…I kind of feel different…" he mumbled as he looked down.

"Yeah, well that's just you. You're into that spiritual jazz." Toph said as they made it outside.

* * *

"Wow…" Katara said quietly, awestruck on where they were now.

Zuko agreed as he was amazed by the beauty he's witnessing as well.

They were in a small, but beautiful garden, the sunlight shining on every flower and on every white marble stone structure. Different kinds of colorful flowers were in full bloom around the bushes, while cherry blossom trees sprinkling petals on the ground. Their watery path ends at the entrance of the garden, now on solid ground. Katara and Zuko stepped on foreign soil, as they observed their environment. There were also three statues around them, all of them depicting Shozu in heavenly robes. Each statue held their right arms straight out. One held a key, one held a scroll, and the last one held a sword. As they gazed at each statue, they noticed the one with the sword had steps on either side of the base around it.

"I wonder what these statues represent?" Katara asked out loud to herself as she was staring at the one with the sword.

Zuko stared at the one with the scroll, which was to their right. "I don't know…but this guy Shozu really favors himself a lot."

"No, my brother. _We_ favor him, because he showed us courage, justice, and wisdom." said a voice belonging to a woman.

Zuko and Katara turned their attention to yet another individual in white robes, who was coming down the left set of stairs, with a hood concealing part of her face.

"Oh, uh, s-sorry, I-I didn't mean-" Zuko said trying to apologize, but the woman cut him off gently.

"It is quite alright, brother. You are forgiven." The woman said with a smile. "It is actually expected of people from Ground Below to be skeptical at first. But when they do meet him, they will always be in awe at what our Savior has done for us, and what our Savior _can_ _do_ for us."

Katara walked in on the conversation. "Um…what _has_ he done?" she asked, really interested.

The woman beamed at the question. "Oh, he has done wonders! I've been a believer for three years now, and he always amazes me! Not only is he our Savior, but he's also a Prophet as well!"

"A prophet? I heard about that from the one who cleansed us. Is that true?" Katara said in curiosity.

"Oh yes! It is indeed _true_!" said the excited woman.

"A prophet? But…those only exist in stories." Zuko said, a little bewildered.

"Oh, no! This one is _very _real! He knows all about me, where I came from, what my name is - which is Rena by the way!" she said with a smile and bowed. "And before all of that, he can predict what the weather will be like tomorrow and the next day, and the day after that! He even predicted the city's rise into the clouds and its foundation! Oh, and all the wonders his city has made! One of his trusted followers, Jekan Fe, was inspired to make inventions that Father Shozu had told him about!"

"Really?" Katara asked, very intrigued.

"Indeed! As of now, I am dedicated to following his works, to become purer person, just like him! That's why I joined the Shrine of Shozu! Not only does he tell the past and future, but he gives us wisdom and understanding of the spirit! How to become pure! And he knows, too! He knows what we do even before it happens! And even if we mess up in our walk to purity, he forgives us!" Rena said, small tears forming in her eyes as she get little emotional. "That is what's so beautiful…he forgives! Because what is purity…without forgiveness?"

Zuko just blinked at Rena, flabbergasted at what she was saying. Katara, however, was very fascinated about all that was said.

"Wow…so, where is Shozu?" asked an amazed Katara.

"He always spends his time in Shozu House, his working base and his abode! He rarely comes out, but he might today! Today marks the twentieth anniversary of our Airloft's rise to becoming a full nation!"

"Really?" Zuko said, interested about his little tidbit of information.

Rena giggled. "You haven't gone out much have you, brother?"

"Oh, um, uh…" Zuko thought of something quick. "I'm…from a very far off…land." He finished lamely.

"U-um, me too." Katara said to back Zuko up.

"Well, you have come to the right place to go if you ever want to stay here! I can tell you all about what this city has to offer, but I want you two to experience it yourselves! If you go up these stairs and take a right, you'll be led to one of Airloft's busiest districts!"

"Um, thank you." Zuko said in gratitude. "We'll um, keep that in mind."

"Thank you for telling us all of this!" Katara said with a smile.

"Oh it was my pleasure!" Rena smiled. Before the two left, she stopped them by saying, "Uh, I have to ask though, and pardon me if I sound nosy, I'm just curious, but…young man…what exactly happened to your face?"

Zuko froze. Katara blinked and looked at her friend. Now that she thinks of it, he never told them how he got his scar.

Zuko mentally cursed to himself. The scar was so much like a second skin that he'd forgotten it was there. And if this _is_ the future, then people will see a resemblance. He can't let anyone know his, Katara's or Toph and Aang's name. He really hopes Aang and Toph already realized that. When the time comes for when someone asks his name, he will be called Lee, his old alias. He turned Rena and answered hesitantly, "Um…a…firebender attacked me…"

"Oh…" Rena's expression then suddenly turned dark. "…I'm sorry…is that why you came to Airloft?"

Zuko blinked. "Uh…" he didn't know what he meant by that, but he decided to play along with it. "…y-yes?"

Rena then walked up to him, putting a hand on his shoulder as her face remained stoic. "Don't worry, my brother. You'll be safe here. No people of the Craft will try to hurt you here."

"The Craft?" Zuko questioned, confused at the man's words.

_**DONG...DONG! **_

Rena perked up as he heard the bell. "Oh! I have to go! It's time for my daily worship and devotion to the Savior! It was nice meeting you all, um…"

"Lee." Zuko said immediately.

Katara, confused why he would call himself that, but soon realized what he was trying to do, quickly said, "Oh, um…Kat." She said, and cringed, mentally face-palming.

"Well, Lee and Kat, I really hope you will all enjoy this wonderful paradise! I bid you all farewell." Rena said with a warm smile and bowed. She went up the stairs to wherever she is needed to go.

"Wow…that was interesting." Katara said as they walked up the stairs to another level of the garden which was empty of people.

"Interesting is right." Zuko agreed, although for different reasons.

As they walked, Katara turned to Zuko and asked, "So, we're keeping our names a secret, huh?"

"What? Oh, yeah. Just in case they don't put two and two together about who we are." Zuko reminded. "…Really though, _Kat_?" He asked with a smirk.

Katara looked at him with a scowl. "Hey, it was all I can think of!" she said, a little annoyed.

Zuko chuckled, "Alright. Whatever you say, _Kat_."

Katara scowled at him a little more. She sighed and said, "Okay then _Lee_," she said the name with a smirk as she glanced at him. "How about we set off to find our friends?"

"Sure thing." Zuko said with a smirk of his own.

* * *

'_I need to find a landmark and figure out where the hell I am.'_

He looked around the garden that was filled with white robed worshippers, sitting on benches, reading books that belong to this religion, and kneeling down in front of statues that depicts this Shozu guy.

Rekoob muttered to himself. "Just cause a city flies don't mean it ain't got its fair share of fools."

He walked past the worshippers and tried to find the way out of this place.

"Alright…still got a girl to find." Rekoob said, looking for some sort of door that would say 'exit' on it.

He found one eventually, as there were double doors with a sign that says 'exit', conveniently enough.

"Okay…" Rekoob said as he pushed opened both doors.

Light was streaming out of it.

* * *

"Here it is! The exit!" Aang said to Toph, as they were in front of the some double doors.

"Well, what are we standing here for? Let's go!" Toph hurriedly said, glad to be on ground again.

Aang began pushing one of the doors, opening them…

…What he saw stunned him.

As Toph began walking out of the garden, she stopped.

"…Aang…" Toph said cautiously, "…I can't sense any ground up ahead…are you sure this is the exit?"

"Uh…" Aang said, in awe of what he's witnessing.

* * *

"…_Wow_…" Katara said, in total shock and wonder on what she's seeing after she and Zuko opened the exit doors.

Zuko's mouth was agape. "…This…this is amazing."

* * *

Rekoob stared ahead in awe, looking at the end of the walkway…which the whole entire land he was on was elevated and was descending down to link to other pieces of floating land to _make_ another walkway, a bridge, which was ascending from below the moving land where the Shrine was. It came up, and gradually stopped. There were people on it as well, couples sitting on benches cuddling, few people conversing, and a man operating a food stand. The links on either side of the bridge came in contact with the links on the floating island that Rekoob was on, while also linking onto the other levitating island, where a huge statue of Shozu, who was wearing formal attire and holding out a sword, stood place. The statue was in the middle of what seems to be a square, with some shops and restaurants dotting around it. People were walking on cobble-stoned streets, while some were having a picnic on the round patch of grass that surrounds the statue. High above them, two connected steel rails were looping around buildings and were carrying cargo boxes that were attached to the rails. The cargo boxes were soaring away on the rails to their docking destination, like some sort of high adrenaline ride.

All in all…everything he's witnessing so far was all so…_bizarre_…so _otherworldly_.

…Yet…it had a strange…hypnotic _beauty _to it…

"…I'm _definitely _not in Ba Sing Se anymore." Rekoob said as he blinked at the wonder in front of him.

* * *

**ALRIGHT! I got this done! Now for all of you wondering; no, they are NOT meeting at the same place where Rekoob would be. They are all in different areas. SO, with that said and done, on to the numbered note that I put out!**

**(1. Yes, I know that I put in the SAME dead guy in another lighthouse, BUT…it was in **_**another**_** lighthouse! ;D …Okay, look, I hope that for some reason, that it doesn't bother anyone. THERE'S ANOTHER REASON WHY THE DEAD GUY IS THERE, BUT I WON'T TELL YOU CAUSE IT WILL SPOIL STUFF, SO SORRY! :P**

**(2. OH, AND THIS GOES FOR THIS ONE AS WELL. I **_**AIN'T**_** GONNA TELL YOU ALL WHAT HAPPENED! …Although, you can **_**guess**_** what happened… ;D**

**(3. I know there's no preachers in the Avatar world, but I was tired of calling him the 'man in black', so I just called him a preacher. I HOPE that doesn't throw any of you off. D8 **

**(4. Instead of just dunking their bodies in the water, and getting all their clothes wet, I did the cheap man's version of cleansing/baptizing. I hope that's alright. 8-(**

**Well, I hope you've enjoyed this chapter so far! :) I'll probably ante up the rating to an M in the next chapter. I'm thinking that's when things get a little more violent. By the way, just a little reminder for the people who HAVE beaten "Bioshock Infinite" and are reading this story, DON'T SPOIL THE GAME IN THE REVIEWS! I MEAN IT. I'LL REMOVE THEM IF YOU DO. Even though this story will be completely different than the game, it would NOT be cool whatsoever to spoil what happens IN the game! Got it? …Good. :D**

**Well, again, I hope you all enjoyed it! See you all later! 8D**


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